Section 23 in Punjab State Legal Services Authorities Rules, 1996
23. Disposal of application
. - (1) On receipt of an application-cum- affidavit, the Member-Secretary, the Secretary or the Chairman of the Authority or the Committee, as the case may be, shall scrutinise the application for the purpose of deciding whether the applicant is entitled to get legal service in accordance with the provisions of these rules, and for the purpose of arriving at such a decision, he may, if necessary and required, give personal hearing to the applicant but in doing so, the Member-Secretary, the Secretary or the Chairman of the Authority or the Committee as the case may be, shall have regard to the fact that the applicant is a poor person or belongs to a weaker section of the society and deserved to be assisted. The application shall be processed as early as possible and preferably within fifteen days of its receipt;(2)The decision of the Member-Secretary, the Secretary and the Chairman of the Authority or the Committee to provide legal service shall be subject to the confirmation by the concerned Authority or the Committee, as the case may be;(3)Where it is decided not to provide any legal service to an applicant, the reasons for doing so shall be recorded in the register of applications maintained by the Authority or the Committee, as the case may be, and information in writing to that effect shall be communicated to the applicant.(4)No legal service shall be allowed to continue after the legal service is granted, if the authority or the committee is satisfied that, -(a)the applicant has knowingly made false statement or has furnished false information as regards his eligibility;(b)in legal proceedings other than the one relating to criminal prosecution, there is no prima facie case to institute, or as the case may be, to defend the case;(c)the application is frivolous and fictitious or the applicant is not entitled to the same under the provisions of these rules; or(d)having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it is otherwise not reasonable to grant it.
